Oswestry anglers net kingfisher in rescue mission

For instead of catching fish they ended up saving the life of a young kingfisher.

The pair had not long set up their night shelter at the side of Blakemere, near Ellesmere, when they noticed a commotion in the nearby canal and saw the bird flapping in the water.

With the help of another angler they scooped it to safety.

Mr Woodcock, from Oswestry, a member of the Ellesmere Angling Club, said: "It was drenched and very weak. Lewis managed to dry it off as best he could and we put it in a bucket that he lined with his fleece to let it rest."

Unsure what to do next the men then reached for their smart phones and looked up on the internet how to care for the bird.

"It said to feed it minnows so we decided the best thing we could use was tuna we had with us. Lewis fed it and also gave it water using a clear tube. It was recovering during the evening so we tried to release it but it managed to fly about a metre then fell to the floor again."

The pair popped the kingfisher back into its makeshift nest for the night, regularly feeding it and giving it water as they fished.

"In the morning it looked much better. We took the cover from the bucket and with no hestitation it flew off. It went across the water and landed in the branches of a tree where we often see Kingfishers fishing. It was an amazing sight," said Mr Woodcock.

Mr Bunsaid: " It was awesome feeling and made catching nothing a lot easier to stomach."

Mr Woodcock is a regular angler at Blakemere and said the Kingfishers had given him a lot of pleasure over the years.

"It was great to be able to help a fellow fisherman," he said.

A video of the Kingfisher being fed in its temporary net has been a hit on the anglers' Facebook pages.